Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Adobe's new Photoshop CS4 packs a ton of fresh features and an updated interface, which alone make it a worthy upgrade for existing users.But the big news is that Photoshop now comes in both 32- and 64-bit Windows Vista versions. The 64-bit edition will allow PCs with lots of RAM to work on very large images with less hard-disk swapping (ideally, no swapping at all), thus speeding up operations. With the shrinking amount of RAM available to modern PCs (due to a 4GB limit on 32-bit Windows versions and those operating systems' increasing hunger for RAM), that's a significant update.

Revolutionary 3D painting and compositingnew

Now paint directly on 3D models, wrap 2D images around 3D shapes, convert gradient maps to 3D objects, add depth to layers and text, get print-quality output with the new ray-tracing rendering engine, and enjoy exporting to supported common 3D formats.

Adjustments panelnew

Simplify image adjustment by easily accessing every tool you need to nondestructively adjust and enhance the color and tone of your images; on-image controls and a wide variety of presets are also included in the new live and dynamic Adjustments panel.

Masks panelnew

Quickly create and edit masks from the new Masks panel. This panel offers all the tools you need to create editable pixel- and vector-based masks, adjust mask density and feathering, easily select noncontiguous objects, and more.Extended depth of fieldenhanced

Easily create a single image from a series of shots that have different focal points with the enhanced Auto-Blend Layers command, which smoothly blends color and shading and now extends your depth of field, automatically correcting vignettes and lens distortion.Auto-alignment of layersenhanced

Create accurate composites with the enhanced Auto-Align Layers command. Move, rotate, or warp layers to align them more accurately than ever before. Or use spherical alignment to create breathtaking panoramas.Auto-blending of imagesenhanced

Combine a range of images, each with a different exposure, color, and focal point  with options to preserve tones and colors  into a single color-corrected image. More powerful printing optionsenhanced

Get outstanding prints with superior color management, tighter integration with leading printer models, and the ability to preview out-of-gamut image areas. Support for 16-bit printing on Mac OS offers increased color depth and clarity.Integration with other Adobe softwareenhanced

Be productive with enhanced integration between Photoshop Extended and other Adobe applications you depend on, including Adobe After EffectsŽ, Adobe PremiereŽ Pro, and Adobe Flash Professional software.

Improved Adobe Photoshop Lightroom workflowenhanced

Select multiple photos in Adobe Photoshop LightroomŽ (sold separately) and automatically open them in Photoshop CS4 to merge them into a panorama, a high dynamic range (HDR) photo, or a multilayered Photoshop document. And seamlessly roundtrip back to Lightroom.

3D object and property editingnew

Edit, enhance, and manipulate 3D images in a streamlined interface without dialog boxes. Adjust lighting, meshes, and materials. Easily orient objects and position the camera using 3D axes and a ground plane.

Fluid canvas rotationnew

Now just click to smoothly turn your canvas for distortion-free viewing at any desired angle  no more tilting your head in the middle of painting and drawing.Smoother panning and zoomingnew

Gracefully navigate to any area of an image with new, ultra-smooth zooming and panning. Maintain clarity as you zoom to individual pixels and easily edit at the highest magnification with the new Pixel Grid.

Content-Aware Scalingnew

Use the new and revolutionary Content-Aware Scaling feature to automatically recompose an image as you resize it, smartly preserving vital areas as the image adapts to the new dimensions. Get the perfect image in one step without time-intensive cropping and retouching.Enhanced motion graphics editing

Edit motion graphics more efficiently with new single-key shortcuts, sync visual effects with specific points in an audio track using new audio syncing controls, and turn any 3D object into a video display zone.

Better raw image processingenhanced

Enjoy superior conversion quality as you process raw images with the industry-leading Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 5 plug-in, which now offers localized corrections, post-crop vignetting, TIFF and JPEG processing, and support for more than 190 camera models.